Libertarian Party
"The government should not prop up a failed business. That would be like giving food to a mortally wounded animal instead of slitting its throat and properly utilising its meat and pelt." - Ron Swanson The 'Libertarian Party '''is a right-of-centre political party that was originally founded in 2006 but dissolved in April 2015 due to inactivity. It was restored in February 2017 with the help of ByronicHero. Historical Libertarian Party & Reformation The Libertarian Party was set up to to promote Libertarianism, based on the following principle: ''"That each and every adult is the sole and sovereign owner of their life and legitimately acquired property and so therefore people should have the freedom to live in whatever manner they desire, so long as they do not infringe upon the freedom of others to do the same". It originally splintered from the Conservative Party The party contributed a considerable number of bills and motions, and also served as a junior government coalition partner during the 6th, 7th and 17th Parliaments. Despite key figures, such as Rakas21, doing their best to save them. the Libertarian Party eventually closed down. Following prolonged inactivity, an internal vote in April 2015 approved the full closure of the Libertarian Party. This was subsequently announced to the House by the Speaker. Some people suggested that the party had closed down as most people on TSR who identify as libertarian were perfectly happy to join a Tory or Liberal Party that on many issues put forward libertarian leglislation and a lack of membership. Almost immediately after the party's closure, in April 2015, Nigel Farage MEP released a proposal to re-introduce the party. He pledged that 'along with my founding team we will become a cornerstone of pragmatic, sensible decision making in the house.' Some of the members who would join the party included JoeL1994, Wellzi and adam9317. However, his proposal did not receive a positive response. Then-Labour Party Leader RayApparently branded it as a 'scam' and 'an illegitimate party.' Saracen's Fez also expressed concern over the high amount of dual members. However, That Bearded Man was the most critical. He said that Nigel's 'attitude towards TalentedLobster is completely unacceptable' and that 'words cannot describe the arrogance.' The Speaker, Birchington, took into account concerns and announced that unless the proposed members demonstrated more commitment to the proposed party, it would not be formed. They did not and this particular project was abandoned. In August 2016, a completely new member to the House called Galaxie501 proposed the re-creation of a Libertarian Party. He declared that 'my goal is to bring libertarian principles back to TSR.' To begin with, the proposal was met with scepticism, with many members suggesting that it could collapse within a few months like the National Liberal Party did. For example, Airmed remarked that she was 'wary of this after the Nat Libs'. However, some members welcomed the proposal. TheDefiniteArticle commented: 'I would be interested in seeing this party form.' TitanCream, a Liberal Party member who had become disillusioned with the Conservative coalition partners, left his party to help Galaxie501 with the project. He soon became the unofficial Deputy Leader of the party. However, things took a turn for the worse when the party released a bill to privatise the NHS;members heavily criticised this particular piece of legislation. Then, Galaxie501 disappeared, leaving TitanCream to run the project by himself. Romanbowling33 joined the House and helped TitanCream but ultimately, there simply wasn not enough support. TitanCream returned to the Liberal Party and Romanbowling33 joined the Conservative Party. In January 2017, MHoC veteran ByronicHero put forward his proposal for a Libertarian Party revival. He put forward several potential policies the party would support including minimal government intervention, individual choice, freedom of speech, strong defence, a points based immigration system, a reformed prison system, the removal of personal allowance, denationalisation of education and decriminalisation of drugs. ByronicHero himself was not a firm Libertarian supporter but believed that the MHoC needed a Libertarian Party. As ByronicHero was such a respected member in the House, members were generally supportive of his plans. cranbrook_aspie reflected the views of people when he said that 'it's high time the Libertarians made a comeback.' Several members recognised that the Liberal Party would suffer if the Libertarian Party was allowed to form, but PetrosAC remained calm and pointed out that 'we have plenty of members that aren't MPs.' Gladstone1885 was the first member to leave the Liberal Party to assist ByronicHero and he was appointed as the unofficial Deputy Leader. Connor27 and joecphillips from the Liberal Party also made the move. TitanCream and hazzer1998 also signed up as potential members but did not leave the Liberal Party. ByronicHero asked then-Speaker Saracen's Fez whether his party would be able to form but the latter replied with: 'I'll probably leave it to my successor, it seems only fair to do so now.' He did warn ByronicHero however that he would need to provide proof that there was a gap in the market and that the potential members would be completely dedicated to the party. Following adam9317's successful campaign in the Speakership Election that resulted in his appointment as the new Speaker, ByronicHero put forward a formal formation request. In it, he congratulated the new Speaker on his victory, highlighted the activity of the party members and listed the party members. adam9317 acknowledged the request and announced that he would not make a decision until he had been given all the relevant powers. However, 2 weeks later, he revealed that the Community Team would not be able to provide a TSR subforum for the Libertarian Party for several months. Members were confused about the delay and ByronicHero stepped down as the unofficial Leader of the party, stating that 'hopefully the others will see it through to completion and if not I will come back in a few months and do it myself.' Nevertheless, the next day, adam9317 formally declared the formation of the Libertarian Party. _gcx defected from the Labour Party to the Libertarian Party the same day. However, a series of criticisms were made about the formation of the party and its membership which culminated in a controversy dubbed 'Libgate'. Despite a rocky few days during the formation of the party, the situation stabilized, with the party creating a constitution, and electing Gladstone1885 and _gcx as Leader and Deputy Leader respectively. heri2rs, a new member to the House at the time, decided to join the party. At one point, it appeared as though Nirvana1989-1994 might defect to the party from the Conservative Party but this collapsed when she realised that she would miss the Conservative Party too much. Over the coming months, the party managed to acquire a few more members including TitanCream and jamestg. In April 2017, the party introduced the Chair position and Connor27 was unanimously elected as the first Chair. Electoral performance The Libertarian Party stood in 18 General Elections, with its best performance coming in June 2017, where the party won 9 seats. This table shows how the Libertarian Party performed in General Elections throughout its history; Leaders There been 11 Libertarian Leaders to date with Beekeeper being the first one and _gcx being the current one. It is worth noting that although ByronicHero was responsible for restoring the party in February 2017, he did not officially serve as their Leader. No Libertarian Leader is yet to serve as Prime Minister. Deputy Leaders The position of Deputy Leader was created in February 2017. _gcx was the first Deputy Leader. Deputy Leaders who also served as Leader at some point are marked with an asterisk. Chair The position of Chair was created in April 2017. Connor27 is the first and current Chair. Other Positions In addition to the Leader and Deputy Leader positions, the Libertarian Party also has the following 3 permanent positions: * Spokesperson for Defense & International Diplomacy: Connor27 * Spokesperson for Civil Liberty & Culture: _gcx * Spokesperson for Economic Policy & Welfare: joecphillips External Links * Nigel Farage MEP's Proposal * Galaxie501's Proposal * ByronicHero's Formation Request * Announcement of the Libertarian Party's Restoration * Category:Political Parties